Engage Broomsticks at Warp Speed
by Cat Calls
Summary: Harry Potter and his friends are whisked away to visit Voyager by a man who calls himself Q


Summary: Harry Potter and his friends are whisked away to visit Voyager by a strange man who calls himself Q.  
  
Disclaimer: Voyager, and all within, belongs to Paramount, Harry Potter and his friends are the product of JK Rowling and Warner Brothers. The chance that they should meet, however, is an opportunity that only someone like myself could provide.  
  
Engage Broomsticks at Warp Speed By Kat Calls  
  
Harry skidded into his dormitory, his scarlet quiddich robes dragging mud and water over the polished floors. He regretted giving the house elves extra work. Especially when his friend Hermione had been protesting against house elf enslavement for the past few months. But he didn't have any other choice. It was either drag mud over the floor, or fail charms. Harry had promised to meet Ron and Hermione out in the common room to finish their charms homework for proffessor Flitwick.  
  
He was already late because, of course, Oliver had wanted to try out a new maneuver he had put together, and had kept everyone out on the pitch for an extra twenty minutes.  
  
His quiddich practice had been alright, but Oliver Wood, the captain of the team, had been working them very hard. Harry's top-of-the-line Firebolt broomstick was comfortable, but it left blisters on the palms of his hands if he used it for too long. He would have to find an incantation to get rid of them.  
  
He leaned the firebolt in the corner closest to his bed, and quickly changed into clean black robes. He didn't have time to take a shower, so his hair stuck out at all angles and some strands plastered themselves to his round spectacles.  
  
Running back out to the Gryffindor common room, he spied his two friends over in the corner nearest the fireplace, and went to join them.  
  
"That isn't how it's pronounced. You say 'ayer' instead of 'ear'!" Hermione was saying. A book lay before them, floating in mid air, a foot above the table. "Try it again." She said.  
  
"Pa-pee-ayer tour-noo-an-dum!" Called Ron. He pronounced each syllable of the charm separately, to make sure it was correct, swished and flicked his wand, touching the book lightly.  
  
The pages of the book began to turn.  
  
"Good!" Said Hermione, beaming at him. "You just have to work on control." She pointed to the book, whose pages were now moving at an impossible speed, sometimes forwards, and sometimes backwards. "Let me show you."  
  
"Finite incantatem." Said Ron. The book plopped down, open, on the table.  
  
"Wingardium Leviosa." She said, waving her wand at the book. It rose from the table, to float again. "Papier tournuandum." She spoke. And one page turned slowly over. She gave Ron a haughty smile.  
  
Ron sighed. "Show off." He grumbled, and crossed his arms over his chest pouting.  
  
"Hey there! Where have you been?" Hermione ignored Ron's comment, and turned to Harry behind her.  
  
Harry pulled a chair over to sit next to Ron. "Wood kept us all late. You'd think we had a game coming in the next three days the way he's working us right now."  
  
Ron pushed the book through the air towards Harry. "Someone should tell him the Slytherin game isn't for another three weeks."  
  
Harry nodded and pulled out his homework instructions for charms, which he had written on parchment.  
  
Slowly , the rest of the Gryffindor team began to file from the dormitories, looking worn out, but clean for the first time in three hours. Harry wished once more that he had had time for a shower.  
  
"Wood shouldn't make us practice in the rain." Said Fred to George, Or George to Fred. No one could be sure which, because Ron's brothers were identical twins, and best friends. They liked to try to confuse people as to who was who. They thought it was great fun. Today they were wearing matching grey blazers and jeans, smiling the same smiles, and walking with the same stride. Their act could have fooled their own mother. Which wasn't really all that hard to do.  
  
They sat down at a table with Lee Jordan and pulled out a game of Exploding Snap.  
  
Colin Creevey came out to sit near Harry, and watch them work. Harry sighed, rolling his eyes at Ron. Colin was always following Harry around, and had been out watching the quiddich practice too. Harry spied the marauder's map lying out on the table, and tucked it inside his books. It wouldn't do to just leave it out like that. Someone could take it, and he didn't want too many people knowing about the secret hidden passageways all through the school.  
  
Alicia Spinnet, Katie Bell, and Angelina Johnson came out from the girl's dormitories, and flopped down in three of the soft chairs surrounding the common room. They were complaining loudly about Wood's lengthy practice.  
  
Oliver himself, was sitting to their left, reading 'Quiddich Through the Ages.' He obviously wasn't concentrating on the book though, because he kept looking over to the three girls, and frowning every time they said his name. It probably didn't matter though. The last time that book had been in Harry's possession, he had looked inside the front cover at the list of students who had previously signed it out. The name 'O. Wood' appeared six times. Oliver probably had the book memorized by now.  
  
All of a sudden, a flash of light made the room go silent. A man stood in the middle of the room. He was strangely attired in a black suit with a line of red across the shoulders. He was looking around at all the gawking faces with a broad smile.  
  
"Hello all you youngsters!" He spoke immediately. He had a strange accent. Probably American, Harry figured.  
  
Colin Creevey leaned over to him and whispered near his ear. "I thought it wasn't possible to apparate within Hogwarts grounds!"  
  
"It shouldn't be. Why do you think everyone here's so quiet?" Harry whispered back.  
  
The man spied the book Harry had just set levitating and his eyes widened in excitement. He walked over to where they stood, stooped to bring the book to eye level, and prodded it with one finger. "How interesting! I didn't know mere mortals could perform such tasks!"  
  
Harry stepped over to the book and touched it quickly with his wand. "Finite incantatem!" He said, and held out his hands to catch the book as it fell.  
  
"Oooh! That was fancy! And he speaks latin! What a wonderful place this is!" The man did a little skip of excitement. "I like your dresses! Let me try!" He snapped his fingers, and the suit he had worn was replaced by black wizard's robes.  
  
"Ginny, go get proffessor McGonagall!" Said Harry.  
  
Ginny was Ron's younger sister, and she had just stepped through the portrait hole a moment before the man had apparated. Her arms were laden with a large pile of books. When she heard Harry, she dropped the stack, and ran back outside.  
  
"Who are you?" Harry asked the man, who was examining one of the moving portraits on the walls.  
  
"The question, young child, is what am I." The man grinned. "I am Q, of the Q continuum. I am all knowing… well er, usually. You see, the Q are an omnipotent race."  
  
Harry's expression showed his confusion, but the man didn't let him ask what that meant.  
  
"What I want to know, is who are you?" The man stopped and looked thoughtful "That's an interesting sensation… I haven't ever had to say that."  
  
Hermione interrupted. "You've never had to ask someone their name?"  
  
"No." Said the man. "I told you. I'm supposed to be all knowing. So who are you?"  
  
The way he said it, made Harry really believe he was telling the truth. It was like he was saying it only to test out the sound of the words in his mouth.  
  
Ron leaned over to whisper in Harry's ear. "He's definitely not a muggle!"  
  
"My name is Harry Potter, and these are my friends Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley."  
  
"Harry, Hmmmm… I know another Harry." The man said. "It would be fun to try to get the two of you together sometime. Nice and confusing for everyone. I'm sure I could arrange something…"  
  
Ginny stepped back into the room with a flushed face, as if she had just been running. Professor McGonagall followed closely on her heels.  
  
"Who are you sir, and how exactly did you get in here?" the head of the Gryffindor house spoke in a surly voice. Her lips pursed together in a sour frown.  
  
"No need to worry for your young pupils madam. I was only wondering what was going on."  
  
McGonagall crossed her arms over one another and humphed disapprovingly.  
  
"I came here as an experiment. I realized there was a gap in the earthly time and form lines, and wanted to investigate! I suspected humans had something to hide!" Q stated. "Oh well, a sourpuss like you probably doesn't want to know anyway." Q snapped his fingers, and Professor McGonagall disappeared.  
  
Ginny was furious. She pointed her wand accusingly at Q's chest. "Where did you send her?!"  
  
He grinned at her. "I just sent her outside that picture you have as a door, and changed the password. She won't bother us for awhile."  
  
"Oh." Ginny reached for her pile of books.  
  
Harry stepped over to give her a hand. "Wingardium leviosa." He said, and the books lifted up off the ground, and into a pile in Ginny's arms.  
  
"I've never seen a mortal do this! Wouldn't Kathy be surprised to find out about you!"  
  
"Who is Kathy?" Hermione queried.  
  
"Well, she's a lot prettier and smarter than Jean-Luc that's for sure."  
  
Hermione was immediately interested, and she couldn't stop herself from asking excitedly, "Are we going to meet her? Who's Jean-Luc?" Anyone who had the description of 'smart' had to be worth Hermione's investigation.  
  
"I don't see why we can't give her a little visit. Oh and Jean-Luc is a bore. You don't want to meet him. Don't worry, I'll be back to pick you up after a week." And Q raised his hand to snap his fingers.  
  
The walls in the Gryffindor common room began to dissipate from around them. They were replaced by grey panels and black desks with flashing coloured lights. In the centre of the room was a tall blue column that looked as if it was lit from within.  
  
Harry, and the rest of the Gryffindor students stared about in wonder and confusion. Q was nowhere to be found.  
  
People stared back at them. If they could even be called people. They were all dressed in the same black suits as Q, but the colours over the shoulders seemed to vary. One woman had ridges on her head that looked more like dragon skin than a forehead. That particular woman looked very angry.  
  
She slammed her hand to her chest where a little button was pinned and spoke. "Torres to security! Intruder alert!" She pulled a fancy gadget out from under one of the flashing desks. The thing looked like a common muggle's showerhead, and she pointed the spray end at them.  
  
Another man with black hair ran to her side and pulled her hand down. "B'Elanna! They're only children!" He looked pointedly at the group of confused youngsters.  
  
"We don't know who they are. They could be dangerous!"  
  
The man scoffed, and took the phaser out of dragon lady's hand.  
  
Hermione was the first one to talk. "Where did that man go?"  
  
The woman looked at her in confusion. "What man?"  
  
"He said his name was Q." Hermione answered.  
  
At the sound of that man's name, the woman let out an aggressive sounding word. Then she tapped the pin again, and spoke once more to the air. "Torres to Captain Janeway. We have some visitors in engineering. I think you should come down here."  
  
A bodiless voice answered this time, it was a woman's voice, and she said, "I'll be right there." Which confused a few of the wizarding children. They began to wander about the room in search of the person responsible for the words. Harry and Hermione, of course having each been raised by muggles, knew it was some kind of technology, and they stayed where they were.  
  
Another lady came in the room by way of a sliding door that no one had noticed before. She had a pleasant face, and a motherly smile. In a way, her presence reminded Harry of Ron's mother. In a very authoritative way of course.  
  
She greeted them with a question. "What's all this about?"  
  
Dragon lady answered for them. "They're here because of Q. I'm not sure what his intentions are, but I guess we have to live with it until the (she let out a fierce sound that harry could have sworn was a swear word, but didn't recognize.) shows up to take them back."  
  
The pretty lady sighed. "We're going to have to make the best of it I guess." She turned to address the children, who were absorbed in the conversation, but hadn't a clue what the whole thing was about. "I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation starship Voyager."  
  
Harry interrupted. "We're on a starship? You mean in space?"  
  
"That's right." The lady who claimed to be Kathy said uncertainly.  
  
"That's bloody brilliant!" said either Fred or George.  
  
"Could someone here explain who you are, and where you came from? You look like humans. Am I right?" The lady asked.  
  
Everyone shifted a little, so that they put Harry at the front of the group. He guessed that he had been chosen to explain. "Of course we're human. We're from Hogwarts ma'am. We're the gryffindor house... Well… er, some of it anyway, and I'm guessing that Kathy is short for Kathryn right?" He was rambling, and she had to pause to process what he was saying in so fast a time.  
  
"Kathy is what Q tries to call me, but I'd prefer to be addressed as Captain if you please… I guess you've been nominated as the leader of this group?"  
  
Harry looked questioningly at his classmates, and shrugged. "I guess so."  
  
"What's your name then?" She asked him.  
  
"Harry… Harry Potter."  
  
"Well then Mister Potter, if you don't mind me calling you that, I don't want to confuse you with Harry Kim here," She waved her hand at the man with the black hair, and he smiled. "The first thing we should do is to get you settled. I don't know how long Q wants you to be here with us, so you should know the rules. Maybe a tour of the ship would be in order?"  
  
Harry pulled out the book he still held, from under his arm, and slipped out a sheet of blank parchment. "I don't think we'll have a problem getting around the ship, Captain."  
  
"Why's that?" She said, a little confused.  
  
He pulled out his wand, and touched the parchment. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." He said, and handed her the marauder's map.  
  
She stared blankly at the page, and her breath caught in her throat. "It's a map of Voyager! How did you get this? It looks like it should be fourty years old!"  
  
Harry shrugged. "It is. But we should know some of the rules here." He said slapping Ron's hand away from one of the flashing black desks.  
  
Now she was even more confused. She looked closer at the map and noticed the little dots with names beside them. She touched one of the names in 'Main engineering' that said. 'Captain Janeway', and noticed a few of the dots on the page, moving. She mumbled to herself something about fancy technology, and good scanners.  
  
Harry felt Ron nudging his side, and he turned to him. "They're muggles!" He hissed. "They won't understand!"  
  
"Well they must be a special type of muggles. I've never seen anything the likes of what they've got here. I don't think we're in any danger of getting in trouble." Harry was fascinated by the tall blue column in the middle of the room, and his eyes swung to it. "What is it?" He asked.  
  
Dragon lady answered again. "It's our warp core… The engine to our ship." She clarified. "What's a muggle? She asked.  
  
Harry turned to her. "Non magical people."  
  
The captain's jaw was a little heavier than usual, and it sunk very low. "Um.. Non magical? Does that mean that you are magical?"  
  
"I probably shouldn't be telling you this, because you're a muggle and all, but you don't act like any muggles I've ever seen. So yes we are sort of magic folk, we're mostly just learning for now. Hogwarts is our school."  
  
A lady with blonde hair tied up in a knot and a metal eyebrow came in to the room, by the same door as the captain. She took a brief uninterested glance at the group of children, and started pressing buttons at the back of the room. Every boy in the room had swung their head around to gawk at her figure. Including, Harry had noticed, quite a few of the starship men.  
  
Ron was quivering beside him. "It's a Veela!" He hissed.  
  
Hermione nudged him in the side, and when that didn't get his attention, she stomped up to Captain Janeway. "Do you have books about this place? I might be able to explain things to them a little easier. They aren't all that well versed in manners." She glared at Ron, who seemed to be foaming at the mouth, and still staring at the blonde lady with the metal eyebrow.  
  
The captain nodded to Hermione. "I can probably scare up a few padds of information. Let me see what I can do. Harry… er rather… Mr. Kim," She corrected. "Please escort these children to some of the available quarters." She turned back to the group. "Commander Chakotay and I will be waiting in the mess hall. Once you've all settled in, you should meet us there so we can have an orientation meeting."  
  
Harry Kim said "Follow me." And the group of children tagged along behind him. All except Oliver, and Ron, who were still staring at the veela. Hermione grabbed Ron by the collar, and Angelina yanked on Oliver's ear, making him wince, but breaking his concentration all the same.  
  
They followed Harry Kim out of the main engineering room, and through a bunch of corridors to an elevator.  
  
Once packed inside, the group began chattering amongst themselves, and calling thousands of questions to Mr. Kim over the din.  
  
"Is that lady a Veela?" From Ron.  
  
"Who was that Dragon Lady?" From Colin.  
  
"I think I just saw a blue man in the corridor. He isn't choking is he? Shouldn't someone perform the heimlich spell on him?" From Angelina.  
  
"Can we get something to eat?" Said one of the twins.  
  
"Yeah I'm famished." Said the other.  
  
"How can you be sure this room is taking us to the crew quarters like you said? Does it go to the same place each time?" From Lee Jordan  
  
"Is Q a magic person or is he something else? Another type of magical creature perhaps? Is there a book about him?" From Hermione of course.  
  
"What kinds of sports do you have here? Anything interesting? Quiddich perhaps?" From Oliver.  
  
Harry Kim just shook his head in confusion. He looked down at his fellow Harry, who was silently reading the marauder's map. As the lift moved them through the ship, the map changed to show a whole new deck with new dots that had different names. Harry was fascinated, but held his tongue in check.  
  
Instead of answering all the children's completely unanswerable and incomprehensible questions, he asked Harry the one question he had been wondering almost since the children had shown up.  
  
"You aren't the oldest of this group, I can tell. So why did they all choose you to represent them?"  
  
The elevator-like room fell silent as they waited for Harry's answer.  
  
He blushed red, and pushed his spectacles further onto the bridge of his nose. "I guess it's because I'm Harry Potter."  
  
Harry Kim sighed. "I wish I could be in charge just on the basis that I'm Harry Kim." They smiled at each other, and were fast friends.  
  
In the mess hall, half an hour later, Hermione Ron and Harry were crowded around a small table where two of the crew played on the strangest chessboard they had ever seen. Which was quite something, considering wizard's chess was played with live chessmen.  
  
"How does it work? Do all the squares have names? Like regular chess?" Ron was the chess champion of the school, and no one was willing to argue the point with him.  
  
One of the chess players answered him. "Of course they do. It's pretty much the same, but there are multiple levels rather than just the one. Three dimensional chess."  
  
Ron smiled, an idea forming in his mind. "Do you mind if I just spruce it up a bit? This could be quite fun!" He said.  
  
"As long as you're not planning on taking over the game, I don't see any harm."  
  
Ron leaned over the table, pulling his brand new wand from his robe. "Engage battalem."  
  
As he touched the board, suddenly the pieces sitting on it came to life. The two crewmen were astonished, and both jumped to their feet alarmed. They stared at the Queen who was busy arranging her robes about her while she sat perched on her plastic throne. One of the crewmen reached out to touch a piece, and the knight drew his sword, and pricked his finger. He jumped and sucked the spot of blood away from his skin. He stared accusingly at Ron.  
  
Ron smiled at them and blushed proudly. "It was the first spell I learned to do properly."  
  
The injured man held out his free hand to shake, and introduced himself. "I'm Lieutenant Tom Paris, and this is Lieutenant Michael Ayala."  
  
Harry and Ron shook the other man's hand as well. "I'm pleased to meet you." Said Harry.  
  
"Why does everyone here have the first name Lieutenant, Ensign or Crewman?" Said Ron.  
  
Tom Paris laughed. "Lieutenant is my rank. Not my name."  
  
At that moment, Captain Janeway called out to the scattered group of wizards. "Could everyone please assemble? I'd like to introduce the department heads of Voyager."  
  
Ginny's face paled at the announcement. "Department heads?" She squeaked.  
  
Harry knew she was thinking about the ghost Sir Nicholas De Mimsy Porpington, whose head was only attached by a thread, and he tried to comfort her. "I think she just means the person in charge of each department for the ship. Just like the head of gryffindor." He pointed out.  
  
Ginny breathed a sigh of relief as she realized that she was being irrational.  
  
Captain Janeway had started to speak. "This is my first officer. Commander Chakotay, if you have any questions about Voyager at all, don't hesitate to come to us."  
  
"She fancies him." Whispered a smiling Alicia Spinnet to Katie Bell. Harry overheard the words and had to giggle. It was true. The Captain had touched the Commander's arm, and smiled warmly at him while she introduced him. They had looked very… well, intimate.  
  
She continued the introductions without pause. "My Chief Engineer, Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres."  
  
The dragon lady nodded perceptibly.  
  
"My helmsman Lieutenant Tom Paris, My operations officer Ensign Harry Kim, The Doctor," She indicated each with a sweep of her hand. "This is Mr. Neelix our morale officer and cook. Seven of Nine here, is in charge of astrometrics, and our chief of security, Lieutenant Commander Tuvok is on the bridge at the moment."  
  
Ron's voice broke through her introduction. "Seven of Nine? The veela's name is actually a number?"  
  
Hermione glowered at him. "She's not a veela Ron. Honestly! If your skull was any thicker, you wouldn't have room for your eyeballs."  
  
B'Elanna Torres grinned at her. "That's one I haven't heard before! I like your style!"  
  
"As I was saying," Captain Janeway interruted, "This is the majority of my department heads, with the exception of Commander Tuvok. The bridge is unfortunately off limits, as is engineering, but you have access to the mess hall, the holodecks, sickbay, and the observation lounge."  
  
"What's a holodeck?" Asked Katie Bell.  
  
Tom Paris answered. "A room where you can shape light and force fields so they look like what you want them to, make interactive holograms of people.You can program them to do anything you want. Sports, theatre, you name it."  
  
Oliver wood was intrigued. You mean we could do anything? Even fly?"  
  
"Sure. I don't see why not."  
  
Oliver grabbed the marauder's map out from under Harry's arm, and spread it out frantically. Where are these holodecks?" He practically yelled. "I need to program them to play quiddich!"  
  
Harry looked around him at the group of children. "Who wants to talk him out of it this time?"  
  
Oliver looked at him pleadingly. "We have the whole team here anyway. We could have a game of it. Maybe teach the crew how to play!"  
  
"But they're muggles!" Harry protested. "I don't think they'll get that far off the ground on a broomstick."  
  
The crew was listening intently to the conversation with interest. Harry Kim piped up at Harry Potter's protests. "The holodeck can be what you want it to be. If you want to fly, you can. You just have to know how to program it correctly. You should check out my Captain proton simulation. There's flying in that, well, if you have the rocket pack on."  
  
"Is it safe?" Asked Hermione.  
  
"If you have the safety protocols on." Answered Tom.  
  
Commander Chakotay spoke. "If you'd like, I can allow Ensign Kim, and Lieutenants Paris and Torres to show you the holodecks for the afternoon. They have the next few hours off."  
  
"Jolly good stuff!" Said Oliver.  
  
"Just a moment." Said Harry Kim. "Did you just say something about flying on a broomstick?"  
  
"So what would you like me to program?" Asked Tom, to a very excited looking Oliver Wood.  
  
Oliver didn't hesitate. "A Broomstick!" He said.  
  
Tom lifted his eyebrow slightly. Kids sure had strange ideas about what was fun and what wasn't. "Computer!" He called. "Create a broomstick."  
  
"Specify." Came the answer.  
  
Oliver interrupted. "A wooden shaft, with straw bristles."  
  
A broom appeared in the centre of the holosuite.  
  
"No it's not quite right… how do we change it a little?"  
  
"Computer, make the following adjustments." And he raised his hand to defer to Oliver's better broom sense.  
  
"Bend the shaft slightly at say… fifteen centimetres frim the top. Elongate the bottom part of the shaft to twenty centimetres. Squish the top part flat. No the other way. That's right. More aerodynamic."  
  
Oliver paced around the broom as he made adjustments, running his hand over the smooth wooden finish. "Have the straws all bend slightly inward, and less haphazard." He turned to Tom. "I want it to respond to commands. Can I do that?"  
  
Tom's eyes were wide open and disbelieving. "Well sure, but hey. It's just a broom."  
  
"Just a broom! This is my chance to really test out different types and choose the best one! This is the WOOD BROOM!"  
  
Tom held up his hands defensively. "Whoa. No need to get fussy here. Just say computer, then tell it what you want."  
  
"Computer." Said Oliver. "When I say the word UP, I want the broom to lift up off the ground, and float at my side at arm's height. I want it to be sturdy enough to support my weight, and I want it to respond to the way my body leans.  
  
"Specify." Said the computer.  
  
"Where is that voice coming from?" Said Oliver. "Who is computer, and why won't she show herself to me?"  
  
"Unable to comprehend instructions." Said the computer.  
  
Harry Kim, Tom Paris, and B'Elanna Torres walked into the mess hall after an afternoon on the holodeck with the twelve children who had appeared in engineering earlier that day.  
  
"I never imagined that the holodecks could be used that way." Harry huffed as he took the plate offered by Neelix.  
  
"Busy afternoon folks?" Neelix continued to spoon the dinner of mashed something or other onto empty plates and handed them to B'Elanna and Tom.  
  
"You have no idea how busy." Tom said. "I don't know how much earth history you've read, but what do you know about witches and wizards?"  
  
"Not all that much. I came across a little something about the wiccan religion when I was searching the database for cultural beliefs and customs, but I hadn't heard that anyone on board was wiccan. So I didn't really pursue the matter."  
  
"Actually." Said B'Elanna, this has very little to do with the wiccan religion, and more to do with what the wiccans thought they could be."  
  
Tom tried to explain. "It seems that the whole wiccan religion was a muggle –sorry I think I've been spending too much time with those kids- manifestation of a true society of witches and wizards."  
  
Neelix was puzzled. "So wiccans were actually witches and wizards? "  
  
Harry tried to help Neelix understand. "No, but apparently, some humans have a gift of strange powers. The muggles sometimes noticed strange things happening, and made a whole religion out of it. These kids are actually the real thing! Real witches and wizards!"  
  
"And boy, are they ever inventive with a holodeck!" Said B'Elanna.  
  
"What did they do?" Neelix asked.  
  
"We helped them program a field of some sort for a sport that apparently is quite popular among wizarding folk. A game called quiddich."  
  
Neelix grinned energetically. "Really? Did you get a chance to play?"  
  
"Well, we didn't really play, exactly, but once Harry had a go on the broom, Of course I had to give it a try, and B'Elanna found out about a field position they call a 'beater', and well…"  
  
"Hey that's not nice!" Said B'Elanna, and she slugged him in the arm.  
  
"Tell the truth!" He said. "You didn't want to have anything to do with it until you heard that you were allowed to propel heavy objects at people and knock them off their brooms!"  
  
B'Elanna's mouth twitched in the beginnings of a smile, and she circled her hand around Tom's neck, Looking deeply into his eyes. "You know there is something about it that reminds me…"  
  
"Don't tell me I don't want to know!" Yelled Harry.  
  
"Well anyhow," B'Elanna continued. "Oliver was saying that we should have a game. Witches and Wizards against Federation muggles."  
  
"And I get to be seeker!" Said Harry proudly, as he sat at one of the few tables next to the window.  
  
"That sounds like a wonderful idea!" Neelix glowed. "It should boost morale a huge amount. Now tell me, is this much of a spectator sport?"  
  
Harry chuckled. "You should see it Neelix! Fourteen players, all flying on broomsticks, and four different balls flying in every which direction. It's absolutely fantastic!"  
  
"And confusing as heck." Said Tom. "Watch out for those bludgers. They come at you like you had insulted them or something." He looked pointedly at B'Elanna.  
  
"You shouldn't have called her argumentative then." Said Harry.  
  
At that moment, the crowd of wizarding children waltzed in, their cloaks billowing proudly behind them. It was hard for the Voyager crew not to notice them, as twelve children in black cloaks was far from invisible in the cool bluish lighting of the mess hall.  
  
Harry, Ron and Hermione approached them.  
  
"Hey Ron!" Called Tom. "I have a bone to pick with you about my chess set!"  
  
"What's the matter with it?" He asked.  
  
"Well, I just went back to my quarters to change my clothes, and it seems that the pieces don't like being disturbed in the middle of a nap. Especially the queen. She can be pretty bitchy when she puts her mind to it."  
  
"My set does that too, but only when I knock them over accidentally." Said Ron.  
  
"Yeah, I accidentally threw my shirt on top of the board. I should tell you that I wasn't really prepared to have an angry miniatureknight riding around trying to cut off my toes in a dark room."  
  
Ron just smiled. "That's wizard's chess." He announced.  
  
"Anyhow," cut in Hermione, "We've been looking for players for the rest of the muggle team, and we thought you might be able to recommend someone."  
  
Harry Kim pondered the options. "In the long run, it's probably not fair to hold tryouts. Not with one hundred and fifty crewmembers who all want to play quiddich. So we should have the team chosen ahead of time. Make it by invitation only."  
  
B'Elanna rolled her eyes. "Be realistic Harry. By invitation? Who would we invite?"  
  
"Well…" He paused to think. "How about the whole senior staff?"  
  
Tom cut in. "Have you counted the senior staff recently? I think last time I checked, there were nine of us."  
  
"Uh, count me out of this game." Said Neelix. "I'm not sure if my stomach could take that kind of action."  
  
"All right, eight. That still leaves us with one person who gets left out." Tom looked around to see who else they might count out.  
  
"We might need an impartial referee." Interrupted Hermione.  
  
"I'm sure there's someone in the group we've mentioned who might want that job." Said Tom, satisfied.  
  
"Good. Let's get to work then." Ron stated loudly.  
  
Everyone on Voyager had gotten Quiddich fever. The senior staff had agreed to stop the ship for an afternoon while the game went on so that everyone could attend.  
  
Tuvok of course, being the man he was, had deemed the game 'an illogical use of time', and agreed to take a duty station while everyone else was in holodeck one. His fellow Vulcan, Vorick, had taken his cue from his mentor, and done the same for the engineering staff.  
  
Tom Paris had told the Gryffindors that it didn't matter. He said that having Vulcans at a game of this magnitude would be a downer, and that it was for the best that they kept their stations.  
  
The rules of the game had to be changed slightly in the pursuit of fair play, and each of the players on the Voyager team had been coached extensively by Oliver Wood during their spare time.  
  
Oliver was in his element.  
  
What more could he want than to have seven people following him around to ask him questions about quiddich? It made him feel very important, and since he had appeared on the ship a day ago, he had been one of the most popular people around.  
  
He had taken the time to analyse each of his new pupil's performance, and had decided the positions they should play. He felt a little strange about this game, because he knew that the gryffindor team was miles ahead of the muggle team. Gryffindor team flew all the time, and they should be ahead of the Voyagers, but these people were smart, and they were learning quickly. He was almost tempted to coach them badly, to give his team another edge, but his sense of duty and ethics refused to allow it.  
  
In the end, he figured, it didn't really matter who won, because Oliver had coached them both. He could be reasonably proud either way, knowing it was his responsibility.  
  
Oliver still didn't understand the use of these writing computers the Voyagers called 'padds', so he had decided his own way was the best way. He strode into the mess hall with a piece of parchment in his fist, and tacked it to the bulkhead near Neelix's kitchen.  
  
It read:  
  
The positions for the official Voyager quiddich team are as follows:  
  
Seeker: Harry Kim  
  
Keeper: Chakotay (I haven't heard if you have another name, but there you are.)  
  
Chasers: Kathryn Janeway  
  
Seven of Nine  
  
The doctor (do you even have a name by the way?)  
  
Beaters: B'Elanna Torres  
  
Tom Paris  
  
The team will be meeting for a quick practice at 1:00 PM tomorrow (Mr.Kim tells me that on Voyager, that would be 1300 hours)  
  
Upon the request of Captain Janeway, The rules have been altered slightly, as follows:  
  
The game must be called to a halt at the first sign of a red alert.  
  
Anyone caught enchanting the brooms, bludgers, snitch, hoops, or otherwise, will spend the remainder of their time here on Voyager, in the brig.  
  
The bludgers have been made a little softer, due to the fact that we do not have wizarding medicine available to us. The safeties are NOT going to be on for the bludgers, however, and they may be hit as hard as neessary. The safety protocols will save you from injury should anyone fly into posts, poles, the ground, or the doctor.  
  
Mr. Neelix (our official referee) has kindly agreed to prepare some snacks for the festivities, and has been given a list of some of our favorite treats. Each spectator is asked to kindly choose the team for which they would like to cheer, and wear either scarlet red, and gold, (For gryffindor) or navy blue, and orange (for Voyager).  
  
  
  
Kindest Regards  
  
Oliver Wood.  
  
Captain of the Gryffindor Quiddich team.  
  
It wasn't exactly an official memo, but it would do for now. Oliver smiled at his creation, and walked out the door.  
  
"And now, to introduce our competing teams!" Lee Jordan's voice carried over the roaring of the crowd. "In red and gold, as usual, winners of the quiddich cup of Hogwarts two years in a row, the Gryffindor team! Wood, Johnson, Bell, Spinnet, Weasley, Weasley, and Potter!"  
  
Half the crowd went wild at Lee's announcement. Most of whom were actually holograms, but there were the four Hogwarts children who were not on the team. Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Colin were in the stands chewing on not- quite chocolate frogs that really hopped, and cheering the loudest of everyone.  
  
A few of the Voyager crew were wearing the red and gold colours. They hadn't wanted to cheer for the underdog, and they assumed that Voyager was the underdog, since the wizarding children had more experience than their hometeam.  
  
From what Harry Kim could see, from his place inside the shadowed Voyager players entrance, most of them were the crowd from Sandrines, who almost all had rations running against the Voyagers.  
  
Harry gripped his broom waiting for the crowd to quiet, so Lee Jordan could announce the Voyager team.  
  
He was nervous.  
  
Far more nervous than he thought possible. He looked over at the rest of his team, and they all had their eyes glued to him. It was all up to him.  
  
If he caught the snitch, then they would win. He found it so hard to hate his rival team, as Wood had told him to. He didn't want to make them lose, but in his own naïve way, he also desperately wanted to win.  
  
Wood had said that it only excited the desperation in a team, when they hated their rivals, and Harry wanted to win. All the kids had been saying that Harry Potter had only ever lost the snitch to a team called Hufflepuff. He wanted to be the one other seeker that took it from him too, but he couldn't bring himself to hate them. They were just too… fascinating.  
  
"And now, to introduce a new team to the game of quiddich. One that has picked this game up faster than the Moosejaw Meteorites did in fifteen hundred and fifty two, The Voyager team! Chakotay, Janeway, Nine, the Doctor, Torres, Paris and Kim!" came the call, and as each name was said, they mounted their holographic brooms, and sailed out the small opening and into the air.  
  
Each broom was very much like the one that Oliver had made with Tom's help. But they each had gold engraved writing on the side. It said "Wood Broom."  
  
Harry circled the top of the stadium, getting used to the feel of the broom under him.  
  
It was an interesting sensation, he had decided. It wasn't really the broom that kept him up, it was the combination of his body and the broom, which made it possible to fly. A lot like the sensation of flying Captain Proton's rocket pack.  
  
He leaned his body forward, and the broom tilted, slipping down in a dip towards the audience. He spotted a familiar figure in the crowd, and a smile crept onto his lips.  
  
Rather than veering away, he kept going until he saw the whites of Jenny Delaney's terror stricken eyes, before he zoomed away, proud of the way he had caught the dive.  
  
Harry Potter had seen the move, and flew in next to him, impressed.  
  
"That," He said, "was amazing."  
  
"Thanks. I've been practicing." Harry Kim looked over his shoulder at Jenny Delaney, who was clutching her chest and breathing heavily in simulation of advanced heart palpitations.  
  
"If the rest of your team is as good as that, we're going to have a bloody difficult go of it today."  
  
"You won't be beating us today my friend." Kim smiled.  
  
Neelix walked out on the field waving his arms crazily to get everyone's attention. "All right everyone. Get into position. Remember the new rules! A red alert puts the game on pause!"  
  
Neelix reached into his pocket, extracted something, held out his hand palm skyward and the small golden ball contained within, sprouted wings and was free. He bent down, and released the two bludgers from their iron restraints, and picked up the red quaffle. He pulled a little pink whistle out from his hideously mismatched and clashing robe he had replicated for himself out of all four team colours. He stuck the whistle into his mouth, and blew, while at the same moment, tossing the quaffle into the air, where Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, Captain Janeway, Seven of Nine, and the doctor, all made a mad dash to claim possession.  
  
Angelina and Seven crashed into one another right away, and both ended up hanging off their brooms by the tips of their fingers.  
  
The doctor, Alicia, and Katie all grabbed the flash of red at the same time, and began to grapple with each other, and the ball, each vying for superiority.  
  
Captain Janeway assessed the situation, moved into position below the three squabbling players, and waited patiently for the moment when the ball would get fed up of being fought over, and drop to the ground. Which was exactly what happened, and she intercepted it.  
  
The second she had the quaffle, it was tucked under her arm, and she made a beeline for the gryffindor goalposts. A bludger shot past her, and she swerved to avoid it, but it hit the tail of her broom, sending her into a spin.  
  
Once she regained her balance, she realized that the three gryffindor players were surrounding her like a pack of Vidiian ships.  
  
She moved her panicked eyes from one player to the next, until the bludger returned full force. She had no way of avoiding it, and she was knocked in the shoulder.  
  
The quaffle popped out of her grip, and Anjelina circled below to retrieve it.  
  
Instead of going after Anjelina, the Captain turned her anger full force on Fred, whose bludger had just bounced off her shoulder.  
  
She had only to glare at him ferociously, and he withered, and flew away at top speed.  
  
Meanwhile, Angelina had reached the three tall hoops where Chakotay was waiting, and she pulled back her arm to launch the quaffle at one of the three tall posts he was charged with tending.  
  
The ball left her hand prematurely, as the doctor swiped it from her fingers, and sped off down the field.  
  
The game contined as such, with neither team scoring a point, until the bludgers began to misbehave.  
  
Or rather, the beaters began to misbehave.  
  
Tom, had made a rather good hit, he had thought, towards Katie Bell, when an unnamed twin swooped between them and struck it with his club, directly back at Tom.  
  
The bludger slammed into his thigh, and he winced. He knew he was going to have a bruise there the next day. The second bludger came at him from behind, and hit him in the back.  
  
He couldn't tell who had hit it, but he recovered himself quickly, and seeked his revenge by slamming it back at one of the twins. The twin simply turned, and batted it back.  
  
This time it hit him in the head, and he heard a loud popping sound as it bounced off his right ear.  
  
"What a great idea!" He heard B'Elanna's voice out of his now only remaining functional ear, and he turned around to encourage her join forces and conspire against the twins.  
  
She swung her club at the bludger, and it only took Tom a split second to realize that she had aimed the wrong way.  
  
It shot over his head, as he ducked, but returned full force from the twin behind him again.  
  
Tom gripped the handle of his broom tightly, and fled, with two mischeivous twins, a half klingon, and two bludgers on his tail.  
  
While the beaters of the teams were otherwise occupied, Angelina Johnson, the doctor, Alicia, and the Captain had all managed to score a goal each.  
  
Both Harrys were circling the pitch with their eyes peeled looking for the snitch.  
  
Potter thought he saw it once, but it had just turned out to be the doctor's holoemitter.  
  
He had gone chasing after it, and Kim had seen the movement. He followed suit, not realizing right away just what Potter had seen.  
  
Harry Potter had realized ahead of time what the shiny object was, and swerved to avoid it.  
  
Harry Kim, on the other hand, wasn't prepared to stop, and plowed right through the doctor.  
  
Through him, because the safeties on the doctor's emitter didn't allow Kim to slam into him, but the emitter was another story.  
  
Kim caught the silver triangular object right in the centre of his chest. It hit him like a bullet, and he had to take a few deep gulping breaths to stop the dizziness.  
  
The doctor had gone offline, and Harry had to reactivate him, and help him retrieve his broom before he could leave. Plenty of healthy snitch searching time was wasted by the time the red faced ensign could return to the air, and resume his circling.  
  
The game was neck and neck, and the beaters had returned to aim at their proper foes, when the snitch zoomed past Seven of Nine.  
  
This, of course gave Kim the advantage over Potter, because Kim hadn't really been following the game, but staring at Seven. When he saw the bit of gold, it was contrasting with her new blue and orange catsuit.  
  
Kim made a mad dash for the golden speck, but by the time he reached it, it had disappeared once again, and he was forced to resume his circling.  
  
The Captain had gained the quaffle at this point, and wasn't letting anyone near her. She pointed the nose of her broom at the goals that Oliver was tending at the far side of the field, and glared threateningly at any invading players.  
  
Both Fred and George were terrified of her by this point, so neither of them aimed their bludgers at her, and it was all up to Oliver to make his save.  
  
He was almost afraid to stop it, but in respect of fair play, he felt he had to at least try.  
  
When he did, the Captain kept coming towards him, and gathered the front of his robes menacingly in her clenched fists.  
  
"I haven't had my coffee yet today, so either give me the ball, or give me coffee." She hissed.  
  
He nodded, wide eyed, and placed the quaffle in her hands. She smiled sweetly at him, and dropped it through one of the hoops.  
  
The numbers on the scoreboard now read: Voyager 50 Gryffindor 30, and Harry Potter was getting nervous. Gryffindor should have been in the lead, but with the 'Voyager secret weapon' as Kathryn Janeway had now been dubbed, they were pretty much evenly matched.  
  
He caught sight of something flickering in the holographic sunlight again, but on closer inspection he recognized it was coming from the doctor.  
  
Wait just a minute. Thought Harry, The light isn't on the doctor's arm, that flickering is coming from inside the doctor!  
  
He slowly lowered himself to the same level as the doctor, and gave the holographic man an intense stare.  
  
The doctor noticed the raven haired seeker staring at him through round spectacles, and his eyebrow raised. He began to inspect himself to see what it was that the young boy was looking at.  
  
Looking at his torso, he noticed that the holomaterial was lighter than usual. His chest seemed to glow with an ethereal light that twinkled as he moved. A low thrumming sound could be heard over the cheer of the crowd, and it was emanating from the twinkling golden wings, which sparkled inside the doctor's holographic image.  
  
The snitch had hidden inside him.  
  
Harry Potter charged, and the doctor let out a yelp.  
  
Tom and B'Elanna had heard the doctor's call for help, and they sent their 'good luck bludger' spinning at Harry. Not just once, but twice, from either direction.  
  
While they watched Potter's broom fly into a tailspin, Tom flew up next to his wife.  
  
"See what we can achieve when the damn things go the right direction?" He stated, and punctuated his remark with a peck on her cheek.  
  
She pushed him away with a growl, and Tom flipped upside down hanging tree monkey style with a confused grin on his face.  
  
Down in the stands, Ron turned to Hermione, pointing up at the couple bemusedly. "She just hit him off his broom! Why would she do that to her own teammate?"  
  
"Well," said Hermione, sliding into her 'I know better than you' mode, "B'Elanna is half Klingon, and I was reading one of those books on metal, and it said that Klingons like to be aggressive. What she just did there, was something of a friendly suggestion."  
  
"What? What do you mean friendly?"  
  
"Well, she fancies him doesn't she? So what she did there was that kind of friendly."  
  
"What kind of person would knock someone they liked that way?"  
  
"Well , I guess Klingons would, for one."  
  
Ron thought about it while he chewed on what was supposed to be an every flavour bean. So far, he had only tasted one type. Something one of the crew had said was leola root. Nothing quite so flavourful as the real wizarding candies. It tasted like rotting tree bark. Souring sap and all.  
  
"I don't think Neelix understands the meaning of candy." He said holding back the urge to wince at the taste.  
  
Back in the air, 'Secret Weapon Janeway' had the quaffle again and was tearing up the pitch, when she was pounced on by the three Gryffindor chasers at once.  
  
Katie managed to wrench the ball from her, and they shot back down towards Chakotay.  
  
A mad scramble ensued at once, involving all six chasers, and Chakotay desperately for order.  
  
A rogue bludger appeared from the side, and scattered the group, allowing Janeway to take posession, and make a dash for it.  
  
Unfortunately, the bludger had knocked the doctor's mobile emitter, and he went offline again. Just before Janeway made her escape, she saw the doctor's image vanish, and it drew her concentration.  
  
In that split second, where her attention was divided, she miscalculated her direction, and flew directly into Chakotay's chest.  
  
He grunted, and the two commanding officers went sprawling into the soft sand at the base of the three Voyager goalposts.  
  
"Are you okay?" She asked him, half laughing, and half concerned.  
  
He groaned and made an effort to push her off his chest where she sat. "It's a good thing you're not heavy. If I ever tell you not to miss a meal again, remind me of this moment."  
  
She laughed and pushed herself off him.  
  
"Hold on there's something…." Chakotay rolled to his side, and revealed the half buried quaffle, which the Captain had been carrying when she'd crashed into him.  
  
"You landed on that?" She said. "I'm so sorry!" She said chuckling.  
  
"Yeah I can tell you feel ever so remorseful." He said sarcastically. "At least I wasn't the one who crashed us this time."  
  
The captain looked about, and noticed that the rest of the seekers hadn't yet realised what had befallen the quaffle, and were checking each other's hands to see who had it.  
  
"Sorry I'd love to chat, but I've gotta fly." Said the captain, and she picked up her broom and the quaffle, and left Chakotay in the sand while she went and scored another goal.  
  
After she had done so, she came back to help him brush sand off his back and shoulders.  
  
"You didn't injure anything did you?" She asked.  
  
"Only my pride." Chakotay winced as he climbed back on his broom.  
  
"Good, now get back in the air, our hoops are unguarded."  
  
"Aye Captain." He left the Captain on the ground, and arrived just in time to make an impressive save at the tallest hoop.  
  
The captain found the doctor's mobile emitter half buried in the sand, brushed it off, and reactivated him.  
  
They exchanged no more than a cursory glance, before they jumped back into the air.  
  
Now that her fellow seekers were back in the game, Seven of nine felt a little less apprehensive about her role in this. She had been afraid for a moment, that as the only remaining seeker, she would be forced to do battle with all three gryffindor seekers, and for a short time, she had.  
  
She gave Captain Janeway a greatful smile, and they sped off together after Alicia spinnet who was in posession.  
  
Chakotay made another grand save, and he passed the ball to the doctor, who, doing his best to avoid bludgers, crossed the field and deposited the ball through the low hoop.  
  
A flash of gold whizzed past the Captain's right ear, and she turned to shout at Kim that she'd seen it.  
  
Both Harrys had heard the call. They gave each other bewildered expressions, and shot off in the direction of the captain.  
  
Neither of them had seen it yet, but they knew it was there somewhere nearby.  
  
Harry Potter was the one who saw it first, and he put on an extra burst of speed.  
  
Kim tried to match Potter, and in doing so, caught sight of the golden speck of snitch.  
  
They both had their eyes rooted to the snitch, and they tracked it's movements. When it swerved right, they swerved right. When it lifted up just out of their grasp, they followed.  
  
Harry Kim was so close he could feel the soft beat of wings on his hand.  
  
But the wingbeats were silenced abruptly, and he looked over at the triumphant Harry Potter who held the golden snitch above his head, beating the air with his fist. Neelix's pink whistle could be heard somewhere in the back of Kim's mind, but he didn't really believe it.  
  
In the end, the snitch had gone to the more experienced team, and though the Voyager crew had played well, and earned their team many goals, it still was not enough to win them the game. For the golden snitch itself was worth one hundred and fifty points. Whereas each goal counted only ten.  
  
The stands were alive with excitement. Even the spectators in the blue and orange colors came down onto the pitch calling congratulations and cheering for the victors.  
  
Harry Kim decided to join them, and when he and Harry Potter were back on solid ground, he picked him up, and carried him through the cheering crowd hoisted on his shoulders.  
  
He could make his defeat a graceful one. Even joyous, for he knew that the program had been saved, and this was by far, not the end of his snitch seeking career.  
  
The crew and the wizarding students adjourned to the Mess hall to celebrate.  
  
Captain Janeway hadn't gotten ten seconds into her congratulatory speech, when Q showed up.  
  
He flashed into existence with his arms locked tightly behind the Captain's neck, and an adoring and mischeivous smile on his face.  
  
"Did you miss me Kathy?" He said loudly.  
  
She yelped and unwound herself from his embrace. "What the heck are you doing here now Q?" She growled at him. "I'm not in the mood for any more antics."  
  
"Sadly enough Captain, I'm not here for antics today. This is the day I promised to return for the little latin children." He grinned foolishly. "But that doesn't mean I won't take advantage of this visit to try and muddle things up a bit." He pointed to Neelix, and immediately, the Talaxian's yellow whiskers began to grow. They lengthened so much that Neelix actually had to lift them up so they didn't drag on the ground.  
  
"Q!" Warned the Captain.  
  
"Alright, alright! I'll just collect what I came for and be off."  
  
Hermione couldn't help herself she had been worrying about this ever since she had come. She asked Q. "What about our schoolwork? I mean, we've missed an entire week! How will I ever catch up?"  
  
"You know you humans will never understand the principles of time for a Q will you? No I suppose not. Don't worry Hermy-own, you have only been gone for a split second I made sure."  
  
Hermione visibly relaxed.  
  
Harry Potter walked up to Kathryn Janeway, and gave her a small hug around the waist. "I've had a wonderful time aboard your starship, and I'm glad I had the chance to get to meet you. Thank you."  
  
She hugged him back, and smiled. "It's been an honour to have you aboard our ship."  
  
Q made a disgusted face. "Alright everyone cut the mush please. I'll see everyone later! Bye!" And his omnipotent fingers snapped once more.  
  
Harry opened his eyes to see a book floating before him a foot above the table.  
  
Ron and Hermione sat next to him with alternately puzzled and alarmed expressions on their faces. Ron looked over at his sister Ginny, who was carrying a large stack of books through the portrait hole.  
  
Scanning the rest of the common room, they observed Lee, Fred and George, their game of exploding snap forgotten on the table. Colin Creevey was busy looking at Harry for guidance and understanding. Oliver Wood's book lay prone on his lap. The three girls' chatter was replaced with an unnatural silence.  
  
Everyone looked knowingly at one another, and smiled. An understanding passed between them all in that moment that the secret of Voyager would remain just that.  
  
1 A secret. 


End file.
